Edmond, Oklahoma

Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States. It is a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, in Central Oklahoma. Its population was 94,428 at the 2020 United States census, a 16% increase from 2010, making it the 5th most populous city in Oklahoma.
The city borders the northern boundary of Oklahoma City. Public transportation is provided by Citylink Edmond bus service.

History

19th century

The Santa Fe rail line in Oklahoma Territory established a water and coaling station for steam engines at this location when the Santa Fe Railroad built into Indian Territory in 1887. The site for the station was chosen because it was the highest point on the line in Oklahoma County; trains could more easily accelerate going downhill while leaving the station in either direction. The railroad then named the station for Edmond Burdick, the Santa Fe's traveling freight agent. When the town was formed after the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, early settlers decided to adopt the name. Though most of the remnants of the old railroad infrastructure are gone, the Santa Fe, now BNSF, freight line still runs through the same course.
The town of Edmond sprang up overnight during the great Oklahoma land run on April 22, 1889, when homesteads were staked around the Santa Fe station. The original plat for Edmond was prepared by the Seminole Town and Development Company, a newly formed syndicate with ties to the railroad. Many of the original streets were named for men associated with either the Santa Fe Railroad or the town syndicate. The first mayor and city officers were elected in May 1889, and Edmond's population was 294 in the 1890 census.
The first public schoolhouse in Oklahoma Territory, completed in August 1889, is in Edmond. It still stands as a historic monument on 2nd Street between Boulevard and Broadway, and is open to the public on the first two Saturdays of each month or by appointment.
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, the first church opened after the land run, was located on the southwest corner of East First and South Boulevard. The congregation still exists, although not in its original building or location.
In 1889, the Gower Cemetery was established by John and Ophelia Gower, a formerly enslaved couple. Intended as a free burial ground for African American and indigent families, it is the only surviving evidence of an early Black homesteading community in Edmond and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
In December 1890, the territorial legislature established three universities, the state university in Norman, the agricultural and mechanical college in Stillwater, and a "normal" or teaching school in Edmond.
The first classes for the Territorial Normal School were held November 9, 1891, in the Methodist Church on the southwest corner of North Broadway and West Hurd. Old North, the Territorial Normal School's iconic first building, was opened for classes on January 2, 1893, and ahead of Oklahoma State University's Central Hall or Oklahoma University's Science Hall.
The Edmond Sun, established by Milton W. "Kicking Bird" Reynolds on July 18, 1889, was the state's oldest continuous newspaper dating from Oklahoma Territorial days.

20th century

In the early 20th century, Edmond was known as a sundown town. Racial covenants barred property sales to individuals of races other than White people or Native Americans in every neighborhood built between 1911 and 1949, except the Edmond Highway Addition in 1924. Racial housing covenants in the United States became unenforceable in 1948 after the Shelley v. Kraemer decision by the United States Supreme Court.
In 1925, a new city charter was written for the city, including a still-enforced requirement that all candidates for mayor or city council be freeholders, or landowners within the city.
Edmond was the site of a workplace shooting on August 20, 1986, in which 14 people were killed and six wounded by Patrick Sherrill, a postman who then committed suicide. This event was the deadliest killing in a string of U.S. postal employee murder–suicides that inspired the slang term "going postal". A memorial to the victims of the attack stands outside the U.S. Post Office in downtown Edmond.
The city was the subject of a Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals case challenging the depiction of a Christian cross on the city seal, raising issues concerning the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In May 1996, the Supreme Court let stand a Federal Appeals Court ruling ordering the city to remove the cross from the seal. Rather than replace the cross, the city council voted to leave the spot blank so as to "remind people of what was there," as well as this being the least expensive way to comply.

21st century

A memorial service for famed Oklahoman baseball player Bobby Murcer was held in Edmond on August 6, 2008, at the Memorial Road Church of Christ. Among the some 2,000 attending the memorial were Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, and former Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
In 2011, Darrell Davis was elected as the first Black city councilor in Edmond's history, and in 2021, he was elected the first Black mayor of Edmond.

Geography

Edmond is just north of Oklahoma City in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of, of which are covered by water. Arcadia Lake, a fishing spot for the Oklahoma City metropolitan area on Edmond's east side, contains bluegill, channel catfish, blue catfish, and largemouth bass. Twin Bridges Lake is also in Edmond.
Edmond lies in Central Oklahoma's Sandstone Hills region, known for hills, blackjack oak, and post oak. The city is in an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers.

Climate

Edmond has a humid subtropical climate with frequent variations in weather during part of the year and consistently hot summers. Prolonged and severe droughts often lead to wildfires, and heavy rainfall often leads to flash flooding and flooding. Consistent winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help temper the hotter weather. Consistent northerly winds during the winter can intensify cold periods. Severe ice storms and snowstorms happen sporadically during the winter.
The city is subject to frequent and severe tornadoes and hailstorms, and is in Tornado Alley. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is one of the world's most tornado-prone areas.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Edmond had a population of 94,428 and a median age of 37.1 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.6% were 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 92.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.4 males age 18 and over.
91.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 8.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 36,398 households in Edmond, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.7% were married-couple households, 14.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 38,705 housing units, of which 6.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.6% were owner-occupied and 32.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.8%.

Race	Percent
White	74.0%
Black or African American	6.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native	2.4%
Asian	3.6%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1%
Some other race	2.3%
Two or more races	11.1%
Hispanic or Latino	7.0%

Economy

The University of Central Oklahoma is a major employer. Some of Edmond's targeted industries include wholesale trade, light manufacturing, information technology, and professional, scientific, and technical services. Supermarket chain Crest Foods is based in Edmond.

Top employers

According to the city's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Rank	Employer	Number of employees
1	Edmond Public Schools	2,975
2	University of Central Oklahoma	1,350
3		764
4		550
5		507
6		500
7		307
8		238
9		247
10		193

Arts and culture

The city of Edmond is making efforts to promote public art with murals, stained glass, and steel sculptures. On a portion of Main Street, statuary lines nearly every corner. On July 4, 2007, the city inaugurated a bronze statue of Nannita R.H. Daisey, believed to be the first woman laying claim on Oklahoma land in the first land run. In 2015 the Dave McGary sculpture of Chief Touch the Clouds was relocated to Edmond from Houston's Astrodome. The 18-foot-tall, 15-foot-wide sculpture is located on Second Street at the entrance of the University of Central Oklahoma.
Edmond residents have access to 57 Protestant and three Catholic congregations, six Latter-day Saint congregations, one Unitarian Universalist church, one Islamic mosque, and one Haziratu'l-Quds for followers of the Baháʼí Faith.
A 163-foot-tall cross sits at the Edmond Campus of Life.Church on the corner of State Highway 66 and the I-35 Service Road. The church, known at the time as MetroChurch, fought the city of Edmond to erect the cross, which the planning commission ostensibly did not want to allow because they considered it a billboard.
The movies Rudderless, American Underdog, and Reagan were partially shot in Edmond.